In the time of your life, live so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life that your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere and when it is found, bring it out of the hiding place and let it be free and unashamed. Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are the things that hold death and must pass away. Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue and whatever heart it may have driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of this world. Ignore the obvious, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart. Be the inferior to no man, nor of any man be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself, no man's guilt is yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of ungodliness or evil, these understand. Have no shame in being kindly and gentle, but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill and have no regret. In the time of your life, live so that, in that wonderous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it. - MF Doom.

Vacation

It's that time. I'm going off for a week of beers and beaches so I won't be posting, but maybe I'll contemplate on some awesome topic to come back with. Have a good week internets.

Blarrg Review: inFamous

Well, it’s a bit late, but here’s my shocking (har har) review of inFamous.

It’s a well-known fact that I love me some super heroes. Something about the super hero mythos is just so damned appealing. I also love video games. Thus far, I have yet to find a super hero game that fully encompasses my love for crusaders by delivering an experience that really feels as though I’m walking in a crime fighter’s boots. Enter Sucker Punch’s inFamous, an open world, super hero (or villain) game that puts you in command of Cole MacGrath, your average bike messenger turned super dude at the outset of the game.

What Works:

For starters, Cole’s powers are cool. The ability to essentially force push fools into the air and then blast them with lighting from the palm of your hand is always rewarding no matter how many times you do it. And you will do it A LOT. Enemies are smart enough to put up a good fight, so you never feel overpowered, even when you’re doing things like summoning huge lightning storms and lobbing electro grenades.

The environments that you transverse look really great, and the atmosphere found around the city is very convincing. You can’t help but feel a certain need to defend the city and it’s people from would be attackers and terrorists. Unless of course you don’t, and then you can lightning everyone you see right in the face. Yes, inFamous allows you to choose your path and shape your character based on morality choices presented to you in several moments of the game. You can disarm a bomb by letting it blow up whilst you absorb the damage, or you can zap some poor schlub off the street and make him do it. This affects what powers you earn, how the citizens react to you, and how the story plays out. Which leads me to…

What Doesn’t Work:

InFamous’ story is borderline non-existent, and the parts that are there hardly make any sense. This is the game’s biggest flaw, as most super hero tales are narrative driven. The characters are either boring to the point that you aren’t really sure who’s who by the end of the game, or obnoxious, Cole’s best buddy Zeke being the worst offender.

Also, for a game so huge, it’s rather difficult to get around the city. Yes you can grind electrical wires, and upgrade to a hover move, but those don’t help much. Rooftop travel is the way to go, but you always wind up on the street level having to climb all the way back up, which takes too long. Don’t even get me started on chase missions.

And while the story missions contain some moments that make you truly proud to be a gamer, the side missions are repetitive and weak, a la Spiderman 2 (read, the same 10 missions, over and over, scattered about the city).

Bottom Line:

Overall, inFamous’ good aspects match it’s bad and when it’s good it’s awesome, but when it’s bad, it’s frustrating at best. It warrants a play through if you’re a fan of the open world/ shooter genre, plus it wouldn’t hurt you to dust of your PS3 for an exclusive.

WTF?

Hey, Gamestop, what drugs are you guys on? I need some.

WII BUNDLES!!!!!!

East meets West.

It's the 21st century. Why can't I have a JRPG that allows me to fully customize my character's armor and weapons? Sure there have been small steps towards that, such as a new piece of armor offering a new skin, but I want full customization. Like an Elder Scrolls level of choice. But I want it on my JRPG. And why have JRPGs become so easy? Not in combat or puzzles, but in items? Why must there be a particular upgrade for a certain character's weapon? I want to have to choose. Maybe one sword has a fire bonus, but another sword does more flat damage? But I really need all of this in turn based combat. Classic turn based combat. I apologize, I've been replaying Final Fantasy 6 lately and that's truly the pinnacle of the RPG genre.

Maybe a turn based Diablo game would be pretty sweet. Plenty of loot options, and great skill trees to work your way through. That sounds like a blast to me.

[Prototype]: The Blargg Review. (Cue copious amounts of blood)

It was delayed for an entire year, lost one of its biggest features (co-op), and was put under a review embargo in the week leading to its release. Before Prototype came out there was every reason to assume that the game was going to suck. But alas, it did not. In fact, it does the exact opposite. It blows minds. We are four years into the next generation of gaming and no game has produced the feelings of absolute desolation that this game does.

Story: Prototype is the story of a young man who is going through some changes. Changes in his body, his life, and his relationships with the people around him. He his having trouble coping with these changes, so he decides to lash out and find out what is going on with him. I think he's going through monster puberty.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't pay any attention to the story as I played through the game because I was striving to unlock all of the powers that awaited me, always promising myself that I'd watch every cut scene during my second time through, in the fabled 'New Game +'. Which hasn't happened yet, because I can't stop senselessly murdering people.

Graphics: A good majority of people have complained about the graphics of this game. "Why doesn't it look better?", "Oh these graphics are pretty shitty.", "Isn't this next gen?". All of those people can go fly a kite, because the graphics on this game are borderline phenomenal. Definitely not in the models of the characters, but in everything the engine puts out without the slightest sign of a chug.

You can stand on the roof of a sky scraper, chuck a person, and watch their body fall halfway across the city. Some parts of the city are calm and collected, whereas others are swarming with zombies, burning cars, couches and other household objects litter the streets, and the military is killing everyone in site. Pure pandemonium. But then you turn a corner and the only noise you hear is the sound of the battle going on behind you, because there is nothing on this street besides hundreds of corpses and overturned cars. Prototype brings to life a city in despair far better than any game to date.

Gameplay: In five minutes I destroyed a helicopter by chucking a person at it (with the most beautiful spiral I've ever seen. Alex Mercer must have been an All-American quarterback in high school), fell from one hundred stories only to land with a shock wave, sending everything around me flying away in a wave of destruction, tore a man in half with my bare hands, and picked up a car while doing a front flip and then proceeded to hurl it at a tank as I landed. All of this was done using only one of the powers (an upgrade to your bare hands that comes in the form of some burly ass buff arms.) you get over the course of the game. With four others to explore (a long 'whip' arm, a pair of claws, giant 'boulder' fists, and a single blade that takes the place of your right arm) you're bound to enjoy hours of mutilation. You also get the opportunity to jump about ninety feet in the air, cover your body in a black armor (a la the Guyver), produce a shield that reflects bullets and acts as a cow catcher when running, and glide for short distances.

If powers aren't your thing you can always take the form of a soldier, pick up a gun, and fight along side the military in their fight against zombies. With the chaos that takes place on the streets this is actually extremely fun.

Controls: You charge your attacks to make them more powerful and your jumps to send you higher into the sky by holding down the corresponding button. You free run (just like in Assassin's Creed) by holding down the right trigger. You make a bloody mess of things by pushing basically any button. These controls could not be any better.

What I didn't like: The difficulty spikes greatly about ten missions in, and for some reason *SPOILERS* the developers decided it would be a good choice to take away your powers (aside from the speed, strength, and mobility) for about a third of the game. *END SPOILERS*

I don't really like number reviews, but Prototype is the best game of 2009 thus far in my book.

Blarrg Review: Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Yeah yeah, I know. I promised to review inFamous this week, but I got side tracked when I picked up Ghostbusters: The Video Game (the 360 version, for those who are curious). Now, before I begin my review, I will confess that I am a pretty die-hard Ghostbusters fan. My childhood VHS copy was played so many times that it literally melted in the VCR. That being said, I’ll try to keep my review as unbiased as possible. Here goes.

What Works:

Turns out, busting really does make one feel good. Developer Terminal Reality has really done an amazing job capturing the look and feel of the movies, making Ghostbusting feel just as awesome as we all hoped it would be when we were kids. Combat is exciting and manages to stay fresh from fight to fight. Even things that you do in every fight (laying out ecto-traps, wrangling ghosts, etc) is well implemented and fun to boot. This could be due to the fact that the game is a tad on the short side, I finished in just under eight hours, but that isn’t necessarily a detriment. The pacing is just about perfect, and it ends before the game play presents an opportunity to get old. The online multiplayer modes really up the replay value offering a handful of challenges that fit in well with the Ghostbusters universe, and are a blast to play with a few friends.

The presentation is also striking. Each level presents at least one or two awesome set pieces (a haunted hotel, a library that shifts across dimensions) and a gaggle of ghosts to grab or garrote. Furthermore, the game is funny. Harold Ramis and Dan Akroyd wrote the script, and it shows. The Ghostbusters are as funny as ever and well represented within the game. Character models are detailed, and lighting effects, are usually impressive.

What Doesn’t Work:

Despite the comedic script, the story falls a little flat (including *SPOILERS* one of the weakest endings I’ve seen in a game in some time) and has some plot holes the size of Texas. Yes the character models are nice, but some of the environments are sparse, and leave quite a bit to be desired. And while the combat is supposed to be frantic (nice shootin’ tex) there are a couple of moments that are downright frustrating thanks to some off screen assailants and a total lack of a radar system.

Bottom Line:

Ghostbusters is a good game, not a great game. It’s a major step in the right direction toward what a licensed game should be. Certain parts of the game are unbelievably well thought out and fun, but there are some glaring flaws that can’t be ignored. Overall I give it a 7.0, add a point if you’re a Ghostbusters fan, if not, rent it first.

The Death of Replay Value?

While my compatriot, Zachary, and I were discussing the newest entry into the God of War franchise I tripped over the apparent elephant in the room: Games are losing replay value. I remember as a child playing and replaying my SNES games as if it were my occupation. How many times did I beat Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, or Secret of Mana, or any number of the other games I had? The most replayed genre by far had to have been the side scrolling, co-op, brawler. On a hot summer day my friends and I were known to make our way through TMNT: Turtles in Time four or five times, each time setting up a different stipulation that we tried our hardest to abide to. (As Zach said, "The original 'challeng room'.")

Games these days just don't provide me with that calibur of entertainment. Not to say that I enjoy current video games any less, but I seldom find myself able to enjoy a game multiple times in a row (Mass Effect and Marvel Ultimate Alliance are the few exceptions from the past few years.) Maybe it's the epic scope of today's games? I just couldn't possibly handle saving the world twice in a row? Or maybe it's the length?

I might be coming at this situation from the entirely wrong angle. Maybe the length of today's games provides me with a valid amount of entertainment, making it so that I don't feel the need to constantly replay them? (Though I replayed the games on SNES because they were flawless masterpieces.) Even after beating GTA IV I found myself popping it in once in awhile simply to drive down the street with reckless abandon. The same goes for Fallout 3 and Prototype (which I'll review soon, I promise.)

But what about the first person shooters and the action adventure games? Can you replay a Prince of Persia or a God of War? How about Devil May Cry? Maybe the problem lies in the genre. Or maybe I just discriminate when it comes to the games I'm going to consistantly play. In the end I still believe designers need to keep replay value in mind. Yes DLC is providing a magnificent fix for the gamer who needs something to do, but is it the real answer?

....In retrospect, I do believe I've found my answer. I'm just much harder to keep amused in my older age.

Final Thoughts on Natal (Then I'm ready to move on.)

I will, without a single word otherwise, admit that the family trailer for Natal was a completely overproduced pile of garbage. The actual tech demos that were involved in my previous 'nerdgasm' are found at http://tinyurl.com/lne9ub and http://tinyurl.com/pyq6ld. I still haven't had a chance to look into the Sony 'Magic Wand' (Yeah, like I'm just SO busy.... blame Prototype.) but from what I have seen, mainly that awesome whip demo, I was slightly impressed. But not to the point that I'd go out and by a PSTriple. The notion of a new 360 has been refuted and blamed on an over excitement for the BIG release of Natal. Which is fine by me. Bring on a sea of games with my new controls. Let's do this. I think this entire idea of motion controls are going to cut a thick line down the middle of the community. And maybe I'm just extremely hyping this up in my own head (my fat ass will get tired of jumping and walking and running after the first two days) but let's experiment, try new things. But everyone can admit: Video phone is pure money.

As Zach has finished inFamous and I've finished Prototype we'll get our reviews up sometime in the next week. Right now I'm trying to figure out what to pick up next, though I believe I'll be playing Prototype religiously for the next couple of months. It just never gets old. But more on that later.

More On Natal

Max may be right; Natal may just be the next step in the burgeoning immersive gaming scene. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that gaming has been redefined with the onslaught of the Wii, and according Microsoft’s keynote at E3 this year, they are poised to get in on some of that sweet casual gaming love.

 

There are, however, a few of things that concern me about Natal. First off, Microsoft is pretty adamant about getting Natal into (err, out of?) gamer’s hands in 2010. And while things like Milo, and Burnout were playable to a select audience, I thought it pretty interesting that instead of live tech demo (a la Sony and their new motion control…remote…wand…dildo?) Microsoft showed us a lengthy and seemingly over-produced video (http://tinyurl.com/m73abn) while only demonstrating a few of these capabilities live. Besides that, no matter how awesome your motion sensing camera is, you’ll probably never have THAT much fun with you family.

 

Next is this idea that Microsoft will be launching an entirely new line of Xbox 360, rather than releasing Natal as a stand-alone product. Now, this is not a new console, mind you, (http://tinyurl.com/lt3q8j) it’s the same 360 we’ve come to know and love, but now it comes with Natal built in. Kind of a bummer for those of us who own a 360 and can’t really afford a new highfalutin model, but might be able to buy just the Natal camera and live out our dreams of hanging out with a creepy English kid (http://tinyurl.com/kuok59) just like everyone else.

 

Lastly, I play video games to escape reality. I play them because all I need to do is sit and relax and press a few buttons to be someone else. The idea of jumping around and flapping my arms to play a game has never really interested me, it’s why I don’t own a Wii. I personally think that using a controller can be more immersive, the better a game controls the less you think about the hunk of plastic in your hand anyway.

 

That being said, I think some of Natal’s other functionalities look awesome. The face and voice recognition is pretty amazing, and it would be great to get some face time with my gaming chums (Hey man, you wanna get down on some Halo? Nice boxer shorts!) And the Minority Report-esque features for surfing the web and browsing the system are downright cool.

 

But enough of these ramblings, I’m just about done with Infamous and I’d like to get a review up in the next couple of days. I also just picked up Ghostbusters for 360 and I’d like to get down to some busting, because, you know…it makes me feel good. 

My Impressions of Project Natal; or, If They Don't Do This Then it is a Failed Project.

Anyone who plays video games avidly, this doesn't apply to casual fans, has had the idea of a completely immersive experience. A game where you take every step that the hero takes. You swing the weapons, you duck the traps, and you place that crushing front kick to the chest of the baddies, a la '300'. During their press conference at this years E3 expo Microsoft announced the technology that will allow us to do just this. Project Natal (pronounced na-tall) is a virtual reality experience, minus the cumbersome headgear and funny looking pedestal we currently associate with virtual reality.


After seeing all of the things that Project Natal is capable of, based solely on the tech demos that were shown at the expo, it is very obvious that the technology will allow us to further surround ourselves in a digital world. During the conference it was shown that Project Natal is capable of facial and vocal recognition, tracking movement in three dimensions, and scanning in real life items (creating a skin by taking a picture of said item). These are not very general capabilities either, taking it as far as tracking the movement of each finger on each hand.


From the minute I saw Project Natal I began putting all of these possibilities to use in my mind. A new Grand Theft Auto where I'm actually walking down the streets of a digital New York. I bend over, make the motion of picking something up, on the screen the character bends over and picks up an empty soda can. I turn, he turns, I pull my arm back, he pulls his arm back, and I make a throwing motion, he throws the can, sending it flying at someones head. (The force of the throw tracked by the force of the motion, another thing Project Natal is capable of.) Maybe I want to tag a wall? Well I would have to shake up the spray paint first. Maybe some drug dealer is stepping on my turf? Well, it's a good thing I played baseball growing up, because I've perfected my swing, and I'm about to introduce it to his skull. What about guns? Well with the ability to track the movement of each finger I would be pulling the trigger every time I had to fire a gun, I would pull the pin on every grenade, and I would use my lighter to light the fuse on every stick of dynamite. But this technology can go above and beyond the violent games that our generation loves. What about a new Trauma Center game, where you actually perform the motions of a surgery? Revolutionizing the sports game is obvious and Microsoft has already shown us how to drive with Project Natal (both hands must be at ten and two and your right foot is on the gas).


Not only would these games provide an added layer of realism, but they would either ensure the limiting of ones play time, or provide for one hell of a workout. Maybe I'm the only person who feels this way. Maybe people don't want to walk every step in a characters shoes. Maybe people don't want to climb every ladder, or jump from one roof top to the next. And maybe parents don't want the virtual violence to go from the press of a button to a tangible motion. But as far as I'm concerned Project Natal may very well be the future of gaming.